Stock Futures Rise as Republicans Will Meet Obama

Stock futures rise Thursday as investors hold out hopes for a budget agreement.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures were pointing to a stronger open Thursday after President Barack Obama and House Republicans agreed to meet to discuss a possible deal to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling, allowing for more time for broader fiscal negotiations between.

House Republicans are expected to meet Obama at the White House in the late afternoon on Thursday. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is expected to urge cooperation in Washington as he appears before the Senate Finance Committee beginning at 8.30 a.m. EDT for testimony on the debt ceiling.

The nomination of Janet Yellen to replace Ben Bernanke as the chief of the Federal Reserve continued to resonate with investors on hopes that her appointment would guarantee a smooth transition at the helm of the central bank and a mild, incremental unwinding of the central bank's massive bond-buying program.

Futures for the S&P 500 were rising 14 points, or 12.6 points above fair value, to 1,662.75. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were gaining 113 points, or 111.02 points above fair value, to 14,841. Futures for the Nasdaq were up 27.75 points, or 25.76 points above fair value, to 3,160.25.

"Should we see some better than expected earnings, it could provide a nice distraction to the Washington drama," Ryan Detrick, a Cincinnati-based senior technical strategist Schaeffer's Investment Research said in an email. "But in the end, unfortunately I'm not sure earnings will matter as much as solving the budget issues."

Neflix (NFLX) shares were jumping 3.78% to $299.40 after Needham analysts initiated coverage of the movie and TV show streaming service with a "buy" explaining that it is the best way to play global broadband growth over the next five years.